Standing support for pictures and the like



W. P. M CAULEY STANDING SUPPORT FOR PICTURES AND THE LIKE Dec. 9, 1924.

Filed July 12, 1923 A TTORNEYS Patented like. 9, 1924.,

STANDING SUPPORT FOR PICTURES AND THE LIKE.

Application filed July 12, 1923. Serial No. 651,187.

To, all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. MoCAU- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Kalispell, in the county of Flathead and Stateof Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStanding Supports for Pictures and the like, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in standing supports for pictures,and other objects of art, and it consists in the combinations,constructions and arrangementsherein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and relatively simplestructure which affords facilities for supporting a desired object, asfor instance a photograph, a piece of bric-a-brac or other small objectand for holding one or more flowers, patriotic or other emblems or otherornamental articles in position to provide an ornamental setting for thephotograph 'or like object.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a practical embodiment of theinvention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the embodiment of the invention,along the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan View showing in more or less developed form the mainsupporting element which is comprised in the embodiment of the inventionexhibited in the preceding views, and

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the main supporting element ofthe embodiment of the invention, the view being taken substantiallyalong the line H of F1gure 1.

Referring now to the drawings and par-' ticularly to Figures 1 and 2thereof, it will be observed that a practical embodiment of theinvention may comp-rise a mam supporting element or frame which isdesignated generally 1 and an auxiliary supporting element 2 which iscarried by the main supporting element or frame. The mam support 1 maybe formed of a single substantially rectangular plate such as that shownin Figure 3, which plate is made of a flexible material and is benttransversely along the dotted lines indicated at 3 and 4 respectively inFigure 3 to provide a front portion 5, a back 6 and, a connecting orbrace portion 7. The connecting portion 7 is tapered in width toward itsextremity so that the extreme end portion thereof is relatively narrowand is adapted to be inserted in'a' slit 8 in the back 6 so that thefront 60 portion 5 and the back portion 6 will diverge from their lineof juncture at an acute angle and will be spaced apart at their remoteends whereby the support 1 will remain upright when placed on a flatsurface to rest upon. the free end of the back 6 and upon the joinedtogether ends of the front 5 and the connecting portion 7. A frame 9 forholding a photograph, not shown,

against the front face of the front 5 may be secured to the latter inany suitable known manner, as by means of adhesive.

The auxiliary or secondary support 2 is shown as comprising a tube whichis closed at its lower end, the tube being cylindrical and uniform indiameter for the greater part of its length and the closed lower endrtion thereof being rounded as indicate at 10. The tube 2 is open at itsupper end and is formed of a water-proof material. The

back 6 is provided with an elongated or substantially elliptical opening11 through which the tube 2 may extend. The connecting portion 7 isprovided with an opening 12 which is in Vertical alignment with the 55elongated opening 11 when themain suport 1 is in setup position, asillustrated in *igures 1 and 2. The opening 12 is substantially circularin configuration and the diameter thereof is less than. that of .the cocylindrical portion of the tube 2 but greater than the extremity of therounded end portion of the tube. The opening 12 thus is adapted to serveas a seat for the rounded lower end portion of the tube 2 when thelatter has been inserted through the elongated opening 11 to rest at itsrounded lower end in the opening 12. The height of the tube 2 when it issupported upon the connecting portion 7 to extend through the elon- Fromthe foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be understood. The secondary support or tube 2 isdesigned for the reception of the stem portion of a flower 13 and will spp r the latter so that the flower 11o may be arranged to overhang thephotograph holding frame 9. Since the secondary support or tube 2 isclosed at its lower end and is made of a material impervious to liquid,the tube may be partially filled with water for the purpose of keepingthe flower with the appearance thereof unimpaired for a relatively longtime. It will be manifest that the appearance of the support 1 will begreatly enhanced because of the positioning of the flower in associationtherewith in the manner described and that an ornamental and pleasingsetting is provided for the photograph which may be held on the mainsupport 1. It also Wlll be understood that more than one flower may besupported by the secondary support 2 and that a flag, patriotic or likeornamental article may be provided in lieu of the flower and that themain support 1 may beadapted to hold a piece of bric-a-brac or otherobject of art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. I therefore consider as my own-all the modifications andadaptations of the form of the device illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and hereinbefore described which fairly fall within the scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a device ofthe character described comprising a standing frame formed of a singlestrip of material bent to provide a front member, a back member and aconnecting member, the front and back members being merged one into theother and diverging from their lines of juncture, the front member andthe' connecting member being merged one into the other and divergingfrom their line of juncture, the back member being provided with ahorizontal slit adjacent to the free end thereof and ported at its lowerend upon said connecting member.

2. In a device of the character described comprising a standing frameformed of a single strip of material. bent to provide a front member, aback member and a connectmg member, the front and back members beingmerged one into the other and divergmg from their lines of juncture, thefront member and the connecting member being merged one into the otherand diverging from their line of juncture, the back member beingprovided with a horizontal slit ad acent to the free end thereof and theconnecting member being tapered in. width toward its free end andadapted to be partially inserted through said slit into engagement withthe ends of the latter, said back member being provided with an openingintermediate of its length adapted to receive an elongated container andsaid connecting member being formed with an opening in verticalalinement with the last mentioned opening in the back member, and atubular container closed at one end and being open at its other end,said container being adapted to be inserted through the second namedopening in the back member to rest at its closed lower end in engagementwith the walls of the opening in said connecting member, said tu ularcontainer terminating at its upper end below the level of the upper endof the back member.

WILLIAM PATRICK MCCAULEY

